Evie and I spent last week in Mammoth Lakes California, one of the most beautiful places in the country, but before that we did, we got to experience some other cool parts of nature.

Winter Park, CO

In June, we took a trip to Winter Park, CO where Evie spent a summer in college working at a kids camp and exploring the area. The world famous Trestle bike park was our destination, the drive was awesome and the park did not disappoint.

Before jumping on the lift I took a spin up to Berthoud pass, topping out at 11,307′ which was pretty awesome. After we rode some awesome trails with monster berms and big jumps we grabbed pizza and then went for a hike near the pass. We hiked about a mile up above tree line and had some spectacular views!

Mammoth Lakes, CA

The last two years Mountain Bike Nationals has been held in Mammoth Lakes, CA. A great venue with lots to do, Mammoth is an all around great place.

Evie raced Downhill and I did XC. My course was the same with a few more holes and bumps. The Cat 1 DH course was a monster. Super loose, big rocks, and gnarly 4-5 foot drops. We arrived on Wednesday to get some practice time in. It’s always fun to go to these kind of events because it brings in people from across the country, many of our friends whom we don’t get to see, but a few times a year.

We rented a condo from the same place last year right by the start finish. Joe and our friends Jonnie and Michele stayed with us and we all had a great time hiking, riding, and listening to live music at the village. I even saw a bear!

Our races went well. Having to stop trail side during the race last year bettering my result was going to be pretty easy so I just went into the race with no expectations of placing, just to ride a strong 6 laps start to finish, and I did. I ended up 22nd on the day which I’m very happy with considering I rode a solid race, holding my position at the start, putting time in on the descents, and picking a handful of guys off as the race progressed.

Evie also had a good race placing 2nd in the Cat 1 30-39 women on a super chewed up course. The women were the last to go on Saturday. Each day the course was changing a ton which made it hard to dial in your lines so we were both very happy with our results.

On Saturday Joe and I did a fun ride up to the top of a nearby mountain peak with some incredible views of Mammoth and the surround area.

Up next, The Dakota FIVE-O, my favorite race of the year on Labor Day weekend in Spearfish, SD. Until then, happy trails.

Two weekends ago set forth the inaugural Carson City Off-Road, the final race put on by Epic Rides in their 3 race series (Whiskey and Grand Junction being the other two). It certainly was Epic!

Evie and I drove out on Wednesday, about 16-hours on what was one of the most spectacular drives through Utah and Nevada. Big canyons, amazing rock formations and tons of mountains. We stayed in Reno with some friends Michele and Jonnie which made for a super fun weekend. Just on the other side of the hill was Lake Tahoe which we explored a bit around some course recon and other fun activities.

Race day was perfect, low 60s at the start (roughly 4500′). Right out of the gate we climbed  5000′ over ~20 miles or so. It was pretty awesome with some spectacular views of Lake Tahoe at the top. I settled in early which ended up being the right call because lots of people were going backwards in a hurry. I was able to move up a handful of places on the climb and hold everyone including Barry Wicks on the descent.

All in all it was a great race, fun town, and great weekend. I finished 24th on the day and 15th overall in the series. Until next year!

Thanks Les and Michele for the race photos.

Times they are a changing. It’s been a wild few months. I guess I should back up and begin back in April with the Whiskey 50. April is always hit or miss in AZ, but it ALWAYS seems to rain on Whiskey weekend. This year wasn’t too bad. Ominous skies never really opened up and dumped on us like last year and it was in the low 50s by mid morning.

It had been a while since I’ve raced with the top echelon of mtb talent and Whiskey sure served up some big names. I ended up 40th on the day after a little to ambitious start, it was just kind of an off day all together, but I remembered how much different it is trying to race for a W locally versus a top 20 on a national level, a nice primer for Junction.

The Grand Junction Off-Road

Grand Junction was another story. We rolled into town Wednesday and hung out with our friends Kim and Bobby for the weekend. GJ is a really town and the racing kicks off on Friday night with the Fat Tire crit right in the heart of downtown. The race is actually super fun. A flat 10 corner crit that rips right through main street inches from spectators cheering and heckling. It’s probably one of the most fun times I’ve had racing my bike.

Usually crit racing isn’t my thing, but I ended up hanging on to the lead group til the end finishing somewhere around 16th. Saturday I played support crew for Evie and Bobby. They both had great races, Evie got 5th in the open women and Bobby won the open men! Sunday it was my turn.

The course in Junction is rad, super rad. Probably one of the hardest mountain bike courses in the country technically with the big chunky rocks, chutes, and all around physically demanding. The roll out from town is really long, about 10-mins before we hit singletrack. I did my best to be as patient as possible and stay tucked in from the wind. Going into the singletrack things swarmed a bit and when I put in a late dig got jammed up as things funneled down to one lane.

Nonetheless, after the first climb up the Tabby I pulled some spots back and then got to the fun stuff, ripping the Butterknife descent. I made a good 10 or so passes there and then buzzed down to the creek where you start a 45-min climb out up this steep rough jeep road. It’s a tough climb with constant rocks and changes in elevation and this year there was a stiff headwind which made things really really tough. It felt like we were just crawling. I haven’t suffered like that mentally in a long time.

I think I only passed one or two guys going up the climb. The wind really hurt. After another bombing rutted out jeep road descent there’s one last painful climb up some Moab type slick rock before dropping into Andy’s and finishing on the road back into town. I gave it my best, but only managed to come away with a 23rd, only a few minutes out of the top 15 so overall I was pleased with a super fun race and weekend.

MBAA Series Finale

This past weekend we headed to Flagstaff for the MBAA series finale. I decided to race Marathon to try and hold on to my series overall which I managed to do taking 1st on the day and 1st overall in the series. The vibe at the MBAA races is quite similar to WORS. Tons of people, families, kids, good trails, vendors, and and all around great time.

We drove down to Prescott for the night to celebrate at Park Plaza (aka the Liquor Deli) over a beer and wood fired Mac ‘n Cheese with Trevor and Karlene, good WORS friends of ours who are now living in Prescott. It was super fun to mix it up again with Trevor after years of WORS racing together. We even pulled off the 1-2 after 3.5 hours of some tough dusty riding.

Birthday Celebrations

Sunday the four of us went for a super fun ride right from the house for Evie’s birthday and then drove over to Cottonwood to do some wine tastings in the Verde Valley, an area that has completely exploded due to the new wine making over the past 5 or 6 years. All in all it was a great weekend!

A week to recoup and then it’s off to Carson City, Nevada for the Carson City Off-Road, the last stop in the Epic Rides EPIC series. I love that area around Lake Tahoe, but have never ridden there so I’m excited to check it out.

Until next time, cheers!